affirmation

We trust God, whose Love and Justice are revealed over and over through creation, community, and story, through the voices of prophets and the lives of ordinary people, through a helpless newborn baby.

We trust Jesus the Christ, embodiment of God’s word, born a refugee, raised in poverty, dependent on the kindness of others. His obedience to God’s call brought him together with the most unlikely characters, and his insistence on God’s radical love for all led him to the cross. Yet God’s love was more powerful than human force, and on the third day love walked out of the tomb, alive and free in the world.

We trust the Holy Spirit, breath of all life, who blows where she will, calling us to the same path Jesus walked, and leading us all in the holy dance of life in the kingdom of God.

Even as days grow dark, even in the midst of uncertainty, even now: the fire of God’s love burns bright, the wind of the spirit cannot be contained, streams of living water flow in the desert, and all earth cries glory, as we wait the dawn of God’s new day.

Submitted by Rev. Teri Peterson, the Presbyterian Church of Palatine, IL.

We believe in God, Creator and Sustainer of all that lives;
the One in whose image all are made;
the One who kept covenant with Sarah and Abraham and never forgot Hagar,
who answered Hannah’s deepest prayer, and
gave songs to Miriam, Deborah and Mary;
the One who loves, hears and sings over us still today.

We believe in Jesus Christ, Redeemer and Savior of all who believe;
the One who loved Martha and Mary;
the One who fed the crowds,
who healed the woman who bled, and
raised Jairus’ daughter and Lazarus;
the One whose love, life, death and rising re-creates us still today.

We believe in the Spirit, Comforter and Interpreter for all who cry out;
the One who came in fire and wind;
the One who gave courage to Esther,
who caused David to dance, and
made John leap in Elizabeth’s womb;
the One who breathes life into the Word and us still today.

We believe that the Body of Christ is made up of
hands large and small, hearts old and young,
legs strong and weak, and feet made beautiful
as they carry the Good News to the nations.

We join those who have gone before and those in the generations to follow
in praise of the triune God who was and is and is to come. AMEN.

We believe in the God who is the pillar of fire and the pillar of cloud.We trust in our Holy Parent who judges and shows mercy.We hope in our Creator who is faithful to all that is seen and unseen.

We believe in the Jesus who rode in triumph into Jerusalem.We trust in the Messiah who was crucified, died, and was buried.We hope in the living Christ who walked out of the tomb.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, giver of faith and formation.We trust in the Breath of Life who stirs, sustains, and sanctifies.We hope in our Advocate who brings to us, and through, us the gift of God’s peace.

One: We belong to the body of Christ.All: We belong to something greater,
One: where everyone is included.All: We belong to something greater,
One: where all small tasks to help are significant.All: We belong to something greater,
One: where everyone is needed.All: We belong to something greater,
One: where each of us has our own gifts with which to serve.All: We belong to something greater,
One: greater than you, or I, or us together.All: We belong to the body of Christ.

Written by young people reflecting on 1 Corinthians 12.Submitted by Rev. Teri Peterson, Presbyterian Church of Palatine, IL.